Magnusson 'Could Not Believe' Newcastle Demands

Dyer was all ready to join up with his new West Ham team mates after a fee had been agreed, personal terms rubber-stamped and a medical had been successfully passed. But Eggert reveals that a last minute phone call demanding an additional £2million put a spanner in the works.

''The fact that Newcastle moved the goalposts in the middle of the game is not how to do business.

''They had given us permission to speak to the player, he had had a medical and we had agreed a fee when we received a phone call that they wanted £2million more for the player.

''We could not believe it.

"But I think the deal is now gone and I feel very sorry for the player, he wanted a move, he wanted to come closer to his family in Ipswich and now that has gone.

But Eggert added that this saga would prove as a warning to other clubs that West Ham United will not be bullied into paying over the odds.

''I think this business with Newcastle has shown that we are not prepared to pay any price that a club puts on a player. If there are perceptions that we will do that, they are not correct.''

''The club have ambitions and we want to break into the top four within the next few years and we have to invest money - it doesn't happen otherwise.''